Huge thanks to Divedapper for a great time yesterday! The readings and workshops were so fun, as was the cotton candy and face painting 🙂
New Interview
Hi friends!
It’s officially August which means summer is (almost) over, unfortunately. On the bright side, it’s been a productive summer. I have poems forthcoming in Tinderbox Poetry Journal and Winter Tangerine this Fall. I’ve successfully completed about 50 poems this summer through the help of a poem-a-day challenge I did with some friends! I’m ready for the second year of my MFA to start through the NEOMFA and I’m excited to share this interview I recently did with the Akron Beacon Journal. Here’s to a great start to a second year!
Check out some of my favorite reads from this summer:
- Odes by Sharon Olds.
- The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde
- Some Say the Lark, Jennifer Chang
- Hard Child, Natalie Shapero
- Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, Ross Gay
- Copia, Erika Meitner
- Barbie Chang, Victoria Chang
- Incorrect Merciful Impulses, Camille Rankine
- The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton
- Diving Makes the Water Deep, Zach Savich
See you soon,
~ Noor
Juniper!
Big thanks to everyone at Juniper Summer Writing Institute for a great week! ❤ It was so much fun being in Dorothea Lasky’s and hanging out with so many inspiring people!
Interview
Hi all,
Happy June!
Big THANK YOU to Josh Roark at Frontier Poetry for interviewing me about Diary of a Filthy Woman. You can check out the interview here.
So far, this summer has been super productive! I’ve been reading manuscript for The University of Akron Press and overusing our *HOLY SHIT* button! I’m feeling very lucky to be able to spend time with some beautiful work. Y’all have until June 15 to submit your manuscript!
Lately, I’ve been writing a poem-a-day and getting reading for Juniper Summer Writing Institute. I’m so excited for June 17 to arrive!
New Essay
Photo courtesy of Literary Hub
“For many Palestinians, the permission to narrate one’s own stories in their own words has been at the root of struggle and survival, as important as delineating a physical space for existence” – Deema Shehabi, Zaina Alsous, and Lena Khalaf Tuffaha.
Hi friends,
I have a personal essay up on Literary Hub titled “Against Erasure.” You can check it out here. This last week, I helped contribute to a folio of Palestinian-American writers to respond to Nakba, or Day of Catastrophe, which marks the 70 year anniversary of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Please consider reading the folio, which you can find here.
Thank you to the following people for contributing and putting the folio together: Deema Shehabi, Zaina Alsous, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Tariq Luthun, Jessica Abughattas, Deema Shehabi, Summer Farah, Hala Alyan,George Abraham, Susan Abulhawa, Leila Abdelrazaq, Marguerite Dabaie, and Lit Hub for publishing the folio.
Summer!
Diary of a Filthy Woman cookies from my launch party on Friday, April 20. Sweet Mary’s Bakery surprised me with these! Buy my chapbook here.
It’s finally SUMMER and I’ve officially completed year 1/3 of my MFA in poetry! I’m so thankful for my fellow NEOMFA classmates for their feedback, love, and friendship this year. It was really great to be surrounded by an amazing group of poets and professors.
This summer, I’m headed to Juniper Summer Writing Institute from June 17-24. I’m super excited to be working with Dorothea Lasky and meeting other writers.
Aside from this, I’ll be doing another poem-a-day starting next week and (hopefully) sending some poems out to journals this Friday. This process always makes me anxious, but there’s some pieces I’m looking forward to sharing with the world.
Most recently, I’ve been reading manuscripts for The University of Akron Press. The Akron Poetry Prize is open until June 15, so please send us your beautiful words!
I’m finally free to read books not assigned to me, so that’s what I’ll be doing this summer. Reading like hell. I’ve got a stack of books I bought at AWP that I haven’t been able to crack open. Also tons of recommendations from classmates/professors I need to catch up on.
Look for my interview about Diary of a Filthy Woman on Frontier Poetry later this month.
Until next time . . .
~ Noor
Happy National Poetry Month!
Hi all,
Happy National Poetry Month!
The Akron Poetry Prize opens up for manuscript submissions on April 15! Mary Biddinger & I read over 600 manuscripts last year. Make us read 1,000 this year 
Diane Seuss is the final judge! The winning poet receives $1,500 and publication of his, her, or their book.
You can submit your work here.
This month, I’ll be having a release party for DIARY OF A FILTHY WOMAN. Check out the event here. Fellow NEOMFA friends Bronte Billings, Sony Ton-Aime, and Bonné de Blas will be reading alongside me.
Bonné and I will also be heading to Case Western University to read at the HEARING THE SILENCE event (flyer attached) on Friday, April 6. We’re both super excited!
Hope everyone has a great National Poetry Month!
